Edward Armitage's Retribution - Annotated Bibliography Example

Edward Armitage’s Retribution (1858) Edward Armitage was born in London in 1817. He was the first born in a family of seven sons. His parents were wealthy Yorkshire industrialists. Armitage began his art careers by first getting his art training in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While he was a student in Paris, he had the opportunity to work with Delaroche, who was a well know painter. Some of his first works of art were done while he was still a student in Paris. Prometheus Bound a painting he did and exhibited in 1842 in Paris just before returning to Britain. He left Paris and returned to Britain in 1843 having completed his art training and took part in the decoration of the new Palace of Westminster. The new Palace of Westminster was being renovated after being razed down by a fire in 1834. Competitions were held to pick works of art that only depicted the history of Britain. Most of those who took part in the competitions were artists who were well known. Edward Armitage entered his painting Caesar’s first invasion of Britain which was among the first three paintings whose owners were awarded 300 pounds each (Boase, 1954). Edward Armitage was a painter of the Victorian era who mainly painted historical, biblical and classical subjects. Before he was awarded the three hundred pounds for his cartoon painting ‘Ceasar’s invasion of Britain’, his reward was delayed because of accusations that the painting had been done by Paul Delaroche (Atkinson et al). However after deliberations it was decided that the painting was the original work of Edward Armitage, and he was given the three hundred pounds. He proved the critics of the first cartoon competition painting in 1845 when he won the first prize of two hundred pounds for his work on ‘The Spirit of Religion’. This was followed by another award of five hundred pounds in 1847 for the painting ‘The Battle of Meanee’, which was later given to the Queen. Edward Armitage’s painting, Retribution, is a representation of the events that took place in India in 1857. It belongs to the genre of painting known as battle or war painting. The Indian rebellion which took place in 1857 to 1858 involved Indian Sepoy troops who worked for the British. The Indian troops rebelled and overpowered the British soldiers. Having been overpowered by their Indian subjects, the British soldiers could no longer protect their women and children. In order to save their families, the soldiers surrendered to the Sepoy troops in the hope of getting a safe passage and boats to take their families to Allahabad. This was, however, not to be. After they boarded the boats, the British were attacked by the Indian troops. Their boats were ambushed and set on fire leading to the death of more than two hundred Britons, men women and children. Those who survived the boat attacks were shot when they got to the riverbank. Others were imprisoned in Bibighar where they eventually died. The incident became to be known as the Massacre of Cawnpore (Stuart, 2002). There were no known survivors of the massacre. The British public was shocked and surprised by the events surrounding the massacre and how their countrymen and women were killed. The British were particularly shocked because they had believed that the people of India had welcomed their dominance and that they could never revolt against their masters. They also believed that the people of India were too afraid to attack their conquerors (Thomson, 2013). The British had also gotten comfortable in India to the extent of allowing those who served there to take their families with them. This was because, by 1857;, Britain had been in the country for a century and was trying to incorporate the customs of the country in their administration. They never saw the rebellion or attack coming. The massacre was also partly contributed by the influx of missionaries into India. The British often saw the culture and traditional practices of the Sepoy as inferior to theirs (Ward, 1996). The Indians feared being forced into Christianity and being made to abandon their culture and traditional practices. The revolt was also caused by rumors that the new gun cartridges were made of beef and pork fat; a factor that violated Muslims and Hindu beliefs. There were calls for revenge by the British public, and even clergymen chimed in to state that the rebels were possessed and that the repossession of India was a religious mission. Edward Armitage’s painting was well received because it represented revenge that most of the British public thought was justified. After a disastrous even like the Massacre of Cawnpore, artist painters and musicians often find a way of honoring the victims. In Retribution, Edward Armitage depicts the end of the conflict where Britain decides to take revenge on India for the killing of its citizens. In the aftermath of war, soldiers are always depicted as heroes who leave their families behind to serve the country abroad. The painting shows a woman who represents Britannia and the Tiger representing India. The tiger is at the mercy of the attacker. The attacker, Britain, has acquired power and domination over India. The sword protects Britain making it powerful over India the Tiger. However, without the sword, Britain becomes vulnerable to the attacks of the Tiger in this case India. The woman in the painting is depicted as strong and courageous. Fighting wild, strong animals like the tiger are always a preserve of men but the painting shows the opposite, a woman who is not only courageous, but as masculine as a man. It shows that Britain is willing to protect her citizens at all costs. The painting also shows a woman and children at the feet of the one slaying the tiger. These are the British citizens who were attacked and killed by the Tiger, Indian Sepoy troops. The woman has come to revenge the killings of her people by the tiger. In the background of the painting, there is a building, showing that the event took place in India and that Britain decided to take the war to India for killing her people there. Edward Armitage chose to use the tiger because it is a strong animal which can cause damage to humans. In using a woman, the painter showed that Britain is ready to protect its citizens and that it is a superpower and that it is a strong nation. The painter also portrays the message that human beings cannot be overpowered by any beast, however, strong it is. The title of the painting also shows that Britain is seeking revenge against India for the death of its soldiers and their families. The painting came at a time when the British were still in shock of the deaths that had been caused by the Indian Sepoy troops. The painting is set in India as shown by the buildings on the background. The dark clouds in the painting also shows the anger of the woman; Britannia. The woman is has been provoked to anger by what the tiger; India has done to its citizens who are seen to be helpless and have become victims of the tiger. In this case, the British reacted by sending more troops to India to protect their citizens. The tiger, on the other hand, was forced into submission again. The painting shows the British perspective of the massacre. It shows that the woman is justified in slaying the tiger because the tiger had attacked her people while, in the real sense, it is the activities of the British in India that led to the rebellion. By seeing the painting, one is moved by the presumably dead woman and children at the feet of the attacker. It depicts the inhumane actions of the Sepoy troops in India. By justifying the actions of the attacker, the painter is trying to persuade the public and soldiers to get into war with the tiger that is attacking Britain and threatening its existence in India. This is the kind of propaganda used in times of war. The story teller has moved away from the real events on the ground and is engaged in half truths which are aimed at mopping up support for battle. The painting only gives the perspective of the British concerning the massacre. The view of the tiger, India, is not represented in the painting. The tiger is only shown as a killer who wants to overpower Britain. The use of a masculine woman in the painting also shows how far Britain can go just to protect her citizens. It shows that she can wage war even in another country to protect her own. It also depicts the tiger as heartless and ruthless at dealing with people of foreign origins. The painting generally shows the fury of Britain and her quest for justice and revenge for the atrocities committed against her citizens. References Atkinson, J.B., Colvin, S, Hamerton, P.G, Rosetti, W.M. and Taylor, T., English painters of the present day. Available at: http://archive.org/stream/englishpainterso00atkiuoft/englishpainterso00atkiuoft_djvu.txt Boase, T. S. R., (1954). The decorations of the new Palace of Westminster 1841-1863. Journal of the Warburg and Courtland Institutes, 17, pp. 319-358 Hichberger, J.W.M., (1988). Images of the army: The military in British Art, 1815-1914. Stuart, V.A., (2002). Massacre at Cawnpore. Available at: books.google.com/books?isbn=1590130197 Thomson, M., (2013). The story of Cawnpore. Available at: books.google.com/books?id=ear-AQAAQBAJ Ward, A., (1996). Our bones are scattered: The Cawnpore massacres and the Indian mutiny of 1857. London: Henry Holt and Company. Read More